All poems

唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

送人东游

Seeing Off a Friend on His Journey East

温庭筠

Wen Tingyun

荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关。
高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山。
江上几人在，天涯孤棹还。
何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜。

Yellow leaves fall at the desolate garrison post,
you leave the old pass in high spirits.
A high wind at Hanyang Ford,
the first sun over Yingmen Mountain.
How many of our old friends remain on the river?
A lone oar comes back from the ends of the earth.
When shall we meet again
and share a cup of wine to ease the parting face?

Listen

Meaning

The poem sees off a friend traveling east. The parting place is desolate — a ruined garrison, falling yellow leaves — yet the traveler leaves in high spirits, and the road ahead runs through grand river scenery. The mood then deepens: in troubled times few friends remain, and the friend will sail back alone. It closes not with lament but with the hope of reunion over wine — valiant yet tender, bleak yet warm.

荒凉的戍所落叶纷飞，你怀着浩然之气离开故关。高风劲吹汉阳渡口，初日照着郢门山。江上还有几人在世？天涯孤舟随你而还。何时才能再相见，举杯共饮以慰别离的容颜？

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] Yellow leaves fall at the desolate garrison post; you leave the old pass in high spirits. A high wind at Hanyang Ford, the first sun over Yingmen Mountain. How many of our old friends remain on the river? A lone oar comes back from the ends of the earth. When shall we meet again and share a cup of wine to ease the parting face? [Structure] Eight lines in four couplets: the parting scene, the road ahead, the after-parting reflection, the hope of reunion. The movement is farewell, journey, reflection, hope — bleakness and heroism in tension throughout. [Imagery] The opening couplet sets the poem's keynote with one stroke each of desolation and heroism: a ruined garrison with falling leaves, a traveler leaving the old pass 'in high spirits'. The second couplet opens the horizon with high wind and first sun, Hanyang Ford and Yingmen Mountain. The third turns from scenery to life itself — 'how many of our old friends remain on the river?' — a question that darkens the grand journey with the thought of friends scattered or gone. The closing couplet lifts again into the hope of a shared cup. [Emotion] The poem's strength lies in its restraint: it never weeps at parting; it measures sorrow against the breadth of river and sky, and ends with a cup of wine.

【白话串讲】温庭筠写《送人东游》：“荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关”——“高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山”——“江上几人在，天涯孤棹还”——“何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜”——他送人东游——何当重相见。【意象与手法】 “荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关”写送别之景与友人豪迈之姿；“高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山”写沿途风物之壮阔；“江上几人在，天涯孤棹还”写别后之况；结以“何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜”寄重逢之望。风骨遒劲。【情感与主旨】温庭筠送友人东游之作，于荒凉中见豪情，于离别中寄期望，是温庭筠五律中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关”写送别之景；“高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山”写沿途风物。

Background

Wen Tingyun (c. 812–866), original name Qi, courtesy name Feiqing, was from Qi county in Taiyuan (modern Shanxi). The greatest lyricist (ci) of the late Tang and founder of the Huajian school, he is paired with Li Shangyin as 'Wen and Li'; his regulated verse is usually ornate, which makes this poem's clear strength exceptional. The friend travels east down the Yangzi past Hanyang (modern Wuhan) and Yingmen Mountain (near Yidu, Hubei, at the exit of the Three Gorges). Written amid late-Tang disorder, the ruined garrison carries the era's decay beneath the farewell.

《送人东游》为晚唐诗人温庭筠所作五言律诗。温庭筠（约812—约870），本名岐，字飞卿，太原祁（今山西祁县）人，晚唐著名诗人、词人，诗词兼工，为「花间词派」鼻祖，与李商隐并称「温李」，其诗风秾丽，亦多清新之作。此诗写送友人东游。题中「东游」即东行漫游。诗中「荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关」写送别于荒凉戍所、友人浩然离去；「高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山」写友人东行沿途之风物；「江上几人在，天涯孤棹还」写别后之况；「何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜」寄重逢之望。温庭筠一生落魄不遇，多与友人唱和送别。此诗于送别之中，既见对友人的情谊与期望，亦暗含对人生聚散、天涯漂泊的感慨，风骨遒劲而情致深婉，是温庭筠五律中「于秾丽之外见清刚」的名篇。此篇《送人东游》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The eight lines divide cleanly into scene, journey, reflection, and hope. The opening couplet works by contrast: 'desolate garrison' against 'in high spirits' — bleak place, unbowed man. The second couplet is strictly parallel (high wind / first sun, Hanyang Ford / Yingmen Mountain), opening the eye eastward with weather and place names. The third couplet performs the poem's turn: from the friend's journey to the human cost of the age — 'how many of our old friends remain on the river?' is a question that needs no answer, and 'a lone oar comes back from the ends of the earth' leaves the friend alone on the water. The close refuses direct sorrow: a question and an imagined cup hold the parting at arm's length, and the courtesy is the deeper feeling.

此诗艺术上以「荒凉与豪情相映、情致深婉」见长。全诗八句，前四句写送别之景，后四句写别后之思。首联「荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关」写送别之景与友人豪迈之姿：荒凉的戍所落叶纷飞，友人怀着浩然之气离开故关。「荒戍落黄叶」写送别环境之荒凉，「浩然离故关」写友人气概之豪迈，一荒一豪，相映成趣。颔联「高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山」写沿途风物之壮阔：高风劲吹汉阳渡口，初日照着郢门山，「高风」「初日」「汉阳渡」「郢门山」，写尽沿途气象之雄阔，也暗含对友人东行之壮游的祝愿。颈联「江上几人在，天涯孤棹还」写别后之况：江上还有几人在世？天涯孤舟随你而还，「几人在」写世路之艰难、故人之凋零，「孤棹还」写友人天涯独行。尾联「何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜」寄重逢之望：何时才能再相见，举杯共饮以慰别离的容颜，「何当」一问，寄重逢之期望。全诗由送别而壮游、由壮游而别后、由别后而寄望，风骨遒劲，情致深婉，是温庭筠五律中的名篇。

Allusions

Hanyang Ford was the great Yangzi crossing at Hanyang (modern Wuhan), a fixed landmark of Tang farewell poetry; Yingmen Mountain stands near Yidu in Hubei, at the eastern exit of the Three Gorges — together they mark the eastward water route. 'In high spirits' (hao ran) comes from Mencius, who speaks of nurturing his 'flood-like breath' (hao ran zhi qi); Wen Tingyun borrows it to write the traveler's unbowed greatness of mind. 'Desolate garrison' names the ruined watch-posts of the border lands; in the late Tang, with warfare constant, such ruins were a commonplace sight, and the phrase carries the age's disorder as much as the day's desolation.

诗中「汉阳渡」「郢门山」皆地理故实。「汉阳渡」指汉阳（今湖北武汉汉阳）的渡口，为长江中游要津，唐人送别诗多以汉阳写江行；「郢门山」指郢门山，在今湖北宜都一带，为长江三峡出口处之山。友人东游，自西而东，经汉阳、郢门山一带沿江而下，诗人以此两地名写其东行之路，写尽沿途之壮阔。「荒戍」指荒废的戍所，唐末战乱频仍，边地戍所多有荒废，诗人以此写送别之地。此外，「浩然」出《孟子》「吾善养吾浩然之气」，本指盛大刚正之气，诗人以「浩然离故关」写友人离去时气概之豪迈，用《孟子》之典而不着痕迹。诗人以汉阳渡、郢门山等地名故实与浩然之典入诗，写尽送别之景与友人豪迈之姿，是善于熔铸故实以写送别的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This is one of Wen Tingyun's finest five-character regulated verses, praised for finding, in a poet famous for ornateness, a clear and steely strain. Critics have especially valued the couplet 'how many of our old friends remain on the river? a lone oar comes back from the ends of the earth' for the depth it gives the grand journey — a late-Tang sigh for scattered friends beneath heroic scenery. Placed beside Wang Bo's 'Seeing Off Prefect Du' and Gao Shi's 'Farewell to Dong Da', it shows the farewell poem's late-Tang face: where the early and High Tang consoled with reason or boldness, Wen Tingyun consoles with the quiet hope of a cup of wine.

这首《送人东游》，写的是送友人东行漫游，于荒凉之中见豪情，于离别之中寄期望，是温庭筠五律中清刚深婉之作。首联「荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关」，写送别之景与友人豪迈之姿：荒凉的戍所，落叶纷飞；友人怀着浩然之气，决然离开故关。「荒戍落黄叶」写尽送别环境之荒凉萧瑟，「浩然离故关」写尽友人离去之豪迈从容——虽是荒凉之地，友人却毫无悲戚之色，而是浩然远行，这一对照，使全诗在荒凉中透出一股清刚之气。颔联「高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山」，写友人东行沿途的风物：高风劲吹汉阳渡口，初日照着郢门山。「高风」「初日」，气象雄阔，「汉阳渡」「郢门山」，地名悠远，写尽东行之壮阔，也暗含对友人此去一番壮游的祝愿。颈联「江上几人在，天涯孤棹还」，笔锋一转，写别后之况：江上还有几人在世？天涯孤舟随你而还。「几人在」写世路艰难、故人凋零，「孤棹还」写友人天涯独行，于豪迈之中透出一丝苍凉。尾联「何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜」，寄重逢之望：何时才能再相见，举杯共饮以慰别离的容颜。「何当」一问，把对重逢的期盼与对别离的怅惘一并写出。全诗由送别而壮游、由壮游而别后、由别后而寄望，风骨遒劲，情致深婉，正是晚唐诗人于送别中见人生之慨的典范，读之令人回味。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (lüshi), eight lines, oblique-tone (ze) opening pattern五言律诗（近体，仄起式）

Rhyme Level-tone rhyme on guan, shan, huan, and yan — all in the shan rhyme group of the Pingshui rhyme dictionary (the shan and related finals); a single rhyme throughout, bright and clear, suiting the heroic tone found amid parting.全诗押平声韵「关」「山」「还」「颜」，韵脚同属删寒类（关、山、还、颜），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调清劲。五律以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「关」「山」「还」「颜」四韵音色明朗，正与送别中见豪情的调子相称；「颜」字收束全篇，与「樽酒慰离颜」之句相映，韵脚亦含别情，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern Strict antithesis in the middle couplets: 'high wind' against 'first sun', 'Hanyang Ford' against 'Yingmen Mountain'; 'how many men' against 'the ends of the earth', 'on the river' against 'a lone oar'. The poem opens with an oblique-tone start and ends on a level tone, its cadence moving from abrupt breadth through low reflection to an open close.句式上，首联「荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关」仄起，以「叶」「关」收句，写荒凉与豪迈相映，音节顿挫；颔联「高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山」对仗工整，「高风」「初日」「汉阳渡」「郢门山」相映，写东行壮阔，音节雄阔；颈联「江上几人在，天涯孤棹还」以设问写别后之况，音节沉郁；尾联「何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜」以「颜」字平收，音节转舒，情调由苍凉归于寄望。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如送别时目送友人孤舟远去之音，清劲而深婉。

Reading note The cadence follows the emotion: the opening couplet is abrupt and forceful, the second broad and clear, the third sinks low on the unanswered question, and the closing line opens level and wide again — the sound of a traveler's boat receding while the speaker still watches.此诗为五言律诗，是温庭筠五律中「于秾丽之外见清刚」的名篇。全诗的艺术特色在于「荒凉与豪情相映、情致深婉」：首联「荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关」写送别之景与友人豪迈之姿，一荒一豪相映；颔联「高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山」以壮阔之景写东行沿途，暗含祝愿；颈联「江上几人在，天涯孤棹还」以设问写别后之况，于豪放中见沉郁；尾联「何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜」寄重逢之望，情致深婉。全诗由送别而壮游、由壮游而别后、由别后而寄望，风骨遒劲，章法井然。尤为动人者，是「荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关」一联，以荒凉之景与豪迈之气相映，使全诗在苍凉中透出清刚；而「江上几人在，天涯孤棹还」一联，于东游之壮阔中暗含世路艰难、故人凋零之慨，正是晚唐诗人于送别中见人生之慨的体现，为后世选本所常收。

Line by line

荒戍落黄叶，浩然离故关。

Yellow leaves fall at the desolate garrison post; you leave the old pass in high spirits.

荒凉的戍所落叶纷飞，你怀着浩然之气离开故关。

The wild garrison, yellow leaves falling; you leave the old pass with a vast spirit.

首联写送别之景与友人豪迈之姿，起笔即见风骨。「荒戍落黄叶」写送别环境之荒凉萧瑟：荒废的戍所，落叶纷飞，「荒」「落」二字写尽秋日戍所之萧条，为送别定下苍凉的底色；「浩然离故关」写友人离去之豪迈：怀着浩然之气，决然离开故关，「浩然」出《孟子》，写其气概之盛大刚正，「离故关」见其远去之决然。两句一写环境之荒凉、一写友人之豪迈，一荒一豪相映成趣，于荒凉中见清刚之气，为全诗奠定了「荒凉而豪迈」的基调。

The opening couplet writes the parting scene and the friend's bold air, the character at once. 'The wild garrison, yellow leaves falling' — the parting environment's desolation: the abandoned garrison, the leaves falling, the words 'wild' and 'falling' writing to the full the autumn garrison's bleakness, tuning the parting's desolate ground; 'you leave the old pass with a vast spirit' — the friend's going, bold: carrying the vast spirit, resolutely leaving the old pass, 'vast' from the Mencius, writing the grand, upright air, 'leave the old pass' the resolve of the far going. Two lines, one the environment's waste, one the friend's boldness, one wild one bold setting off, the clear, firm air within the desolation, tuning the poem's keynote of 'desolate and bold'.

高风汉阳渡，初日郢门山。

A high wind at Hanyang Ford; the first sun over Yingmen Mountain.

高风劲吹汉阳渡口，初日照着郢门山。

The high wind at Hanyang Ferry; the first sun on Yingmen Mountain.

颔联写友人东行沿途的风物，气象雄阔。「高风汉阳渡」写高风劲吹汉阳渡口，「高风」见风势之劲、江天之阔；「初日郢门山」写初日照着郢门山，「初日」见晨光之明、山色之朗。两句以「高风」「初日」写天气气象，以「汉阳渡」「郢门山」写地名之悠远，对仗工整而意象开阔，写尽东行沿途的壮阔风光，也暗含对友人此去一番壮游的祝愿。诗人不直写送别之情，而以此壮阔之景写之，景中含情，正是「以景写意」的妙笔。

The neck couplet writes the scenery along the friend's eastward road, the air grand. 'The high wind at Hanyang Ferry' — 'high wind' the keenness of the wind, the breadth of river and sky; 'the first sun on Yingmen Mountain' — 'first sun' the brightness of the morning light, the clear mountain color. Two lines, 'high wind' and 'first sun' the weather, 'Hanyang Ferry' and 'Yingmen Mountain' the distant place-names, the couplet exact and the images open, writing to the full the grand scenery of the eastward road, and secretly the wish for the friend's grand tour. The poet writes not the parting feeling directly, but through this grand scene, the feeling within the scene, precisely the 'writing the meaning through scene' stroke.

江上几人在，天涯孤棹还。

How many of our old friends remain on the river? A lone oar comes back from the ends of the earth.

江上还有几人在世？天涯孤舟随你而还。

On the river, how many remain? At the world's end, the lone boat returns.

颈联写别后之况，于豪迈中透出一丝苍凉。「江上几人在」以设问写世路之艰难、故人之凋零——江上滔滔，而故人存者几何？这「几人在」一问，写尽唐末乱世中人事凋零之慨；「天涯孤棹还」写友人天涯独行，一叶孤舟随江而还，「孤棹」见其独行无伴。两句一写故人之凋零、一写友人独行之孤，于友人东游的壮阔之中，暗含对人生聚散、天涯漂泊的深沉感慨，含蓄蕴藉，是「于豪放中见沉郁」的典范之笔。

The following couplet writes the post-parting lot, a thread of desolation within the boldness. 'On the river, how many remain?' the question writing the world's hard road, the old friends' fading — the river rolling on, and of the old friends, how many remain? This question of 'how many remain' writes to the full the sigh at men's fading in the late-Tang disorder; 'at the world's end, the lone boat returns' — the friend traveling alone at the world's end, one lone boat returning on the river, 'lone boat' his traveling with no companion. Two lines, one the old friends' fading, one the friend's lonely traveling, within the grandeur of the friend's eastward tour, secretly holding the deep sigh at life's meeting and parting, the world-end drift, restrained and lasting, the model stroke of 'the deep within the boldness'.

何当重相见，樽酒慰离颜。

When shall we meet again and share a cup of wine to ease the parting face?

何时才能再相见，举杯共饮以慰别离的容颜？

When shall we meet again? A cup of wine to soothe the parting face.

尾联寄重逢之望，是全诗情感落点。「何当重相见」以设问写对重逢的期盼，「何当」见其不知何日才能再见，重逢之渺茫与期盼之殷切一并写出；「樽酒慰离颜」写想象重逢时举杯共饮、以慰别离的容颜，「樽酒」写重逢之欢聚，「慰离颜」写为别离而憔悴的容颜终得慰藉。两句以设问起笔，以想象作结，把对友人的情谊与对重逢的期望写得深切而含蓄。诗人不直写依依不舍，而以此寄望之笔写之，情致深婉，余味悠长，是五律「以寄望作结」的典范之笔。

The closing couplet entrusts the hope of reunion, the landing of the poem's feeling. 'When shall we meet again?' the question writing the longing for reunion, 'when' the unknown day of meeting again, the reunion's vagueness and the longing's earnestness together. 'A cup of wine to soothe the parting face' — imagining the reunion, the cup raised to drink together, to soothe the parting-worn face, 'a cup of wine' the reunion's joy, 'soothe the parting face' the face worn by parting at last consoled. Two lines, opening in question, closing in imagination, writing the friendship and the hope of reunion deep and restrained. The poet writes not the reluctant care directly, but through this entrusting stroke, the feeling deep and lingering, the aftertaste long, the model of the five-word regulated verse's 'closing in the entrusting hope'.

Study

Word focus

荒戍 'Desolate garrison' — a ruined watch-post. One word names both the day's bleak scene and, in the late Tang, an age of border decay; the falling leaves and the ruin together set the poem's cold, desolate keynote. 「荒戍」指荒废的戍所，是首联写送别环境之荒凉的关键。「荒戍落黄叶」着一「荒」，写戍所之荒废萧条——唐末战乱频仍，边地戍所多已荒废，着一「荒」字，既写眼前之景，亦暗含时代之乱、人事之凋零，为送别定下苍凉的底色，是「以一字写尽时代」的妙笔。「荒戍」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

浩然 'In high spirits' — from Mencius' 'flood-like breath' (hao ran zhi qi), here the traveler's greatness of mind: though the place is bleak and the hour is parting, he leaves unbowed. The word is the source of the poem's clear strength. 「浩然」出《孟子》「吾善养吾浩然之气」，本指盛大刚正之气，是写友人豪迈之姿的关键。「浩然离故关」着一「浩然」，写友人离去时气概之豪迈从容——虽是荒凉之地、离别之时，友人却毫无悲戚之色，而是浩然远行。这「浩然」二字，既写友人之人格气度，亦见诗人对其东游的期许，是全诗清刚之气的源泉。「浩然」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

高风 'High wind' — the wind blowing across high heaven, writing the river's breadth and the journey's amplitude; paired with 'first sun' below, one sky and one earth open the eastward road. 「高风」写风势之劲、气象之雄阔，是颔联写东行壮阔的关键。「高风汉阳渡」着一「高」，写高天劲吹之风，见江天之开阔、行旅之浩荡。与下句「初日」相对，「高风」「初日」一天一地，气象雄阔，写尽东行沿途的壮阔风光，也暗含对友人此去一番壮游的祝愿，是「以景写意」的点睛之笔。「高风」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

孤棹 'Lone oar' — a single paddle, meaning the friend's solitary boat. Where the first couplet still had two people at parting, here only the oar and the water remain; the word leaves the traveler alone midstream and hides the speaker's worry inside the scenery. 「孤棹」写友人天涯独行的一叶孤舟，「孤」字写尽其独行之状。江上滔滔，而友人唯乘一叶孤舟东行，「孤棹」见其天涯独往、无伴相随，与「江上几人在」之设问相呼应，于友人东游的壮阔之中，透出一丝苍凉与孤独。着一「孤」字，把对友人独行的牵挂与对人生聚散的感慨含蓄写出，是「于豪放中见沉郁」的妙笔。「孤棹」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。